Bright Son of Krypton
by Vampcoffee
Summary: Jai-El is Solarboy and leader of a teenage superhero team known as the Youth Council. His sister, Solargirl, constantly chides him for his immaturity. However, when their father and several other mentors to the team are flung into another dimension, Solarboy and the Youth Council rise to face the villain responsible. [Tagged characters are alternate versions]


**Watchtower, Earth +5**

They had been gone for hours.

The Justice Council never took this long to handle a threat. Most of their time away was simply spent in flight, to the Earth's surface, and back again. This time was different. And every time that had been different had been a big deal.

Ava Zor-El was beginning to worry, though she would never admit it. Her white and gold supersuit was painted blue by the glow of a dozen hologram monitors. She sat at the console on the observation deck, cross-legged, a remote in hand. She had switched all cameras to a live feed of Metropolis. However, darkness was spreading over the city at an alarming rate. Despite multiple angles, she could hardly see anything but black.

She lost sight of the Justice Council after a few minutes. Soon the only thing she could make out was an eerie storm and dark structure forming within the gloom. After talking herself down several times, Solargirl finally decided to do something about it. Strictly speaking, she was not part of the Youth Council or the Justice Council. At twenty-one, she was too old for the former, but she had not proven herself enough for the latter. She was stuck in an odd limbo. She had no team she belonged on and she had no city which she protected.

Though, she knew someone who did.

She stood and her orange cape trailed behind as she floated up to the private quarter's deck. She hovered over to the door labeled with a glowing neon sign. "Solarboy" was blinking in bright yellow light outside of the door. Other Youth Council team members had painted or decorated their rooms in some way but only her brother would be so ostentatious. She knocked on the door.

No response. Solargirl sighed. She focused on the room with her powers. With her super-hearing, she could hear another person in his room. With her x-ray vision, she could see what they were up to. Her younger brother and his _friend_ , Hyperkid, were laying in bed. Kissing and touching, hands in inappropriate places.

Solargirl rolled her eyes. At least they were still in their costumes. Mostly. She clicked the access button and the door slid open. Oblivious, Solarboy and Hyperkid went on making out.

"Boys."

The teen heroes both looked at Solargirl wide-eyed. They instantly became flustered and hurried to _adjust_ their costumes. After collecting themselves, Solarboy sat up from the bed and Hyperkid blurred away in a streak of blue.

"So _that's_ why his costume ends with shorts," Solargirl said.

"Ava!" Solarboy said. "You keep scaring away my boyfriend!"

"He didn't have to run," Solargirl said. "I wasn't going to hurt him."

"I think you owe him an apology," Solarboy said.

"I think he should grow up. Both of you, really." Solargirl walked in the room. "What did The Shroud say about growing too intimate with your team?"

"Who cares?" Solarboy said. "Shroud isn't Dad." He pushed past his sister, walking toward the main deck.

"And what did Dad say?"

"He said he wants the best everyone, that's all," Solarboy said. "And Miss Amazon said I can love whoever I want."

Solargirl huffed. "It's not about that-" Her voice was raising. "Anyway, speaking of Dad, he and the other councilors are missing." **[*]**

"Really? Since when?"

"Three hours ago."

"Three hours?" Solarboy waved a hand. "Pssh, whatever-"

"Come with me to observation," Solargirl said. "Now."

Solarboy noticed Solargirl's shift in tone. Her face was completely serious. "Gosh, okay."

Solarboy floated down to the observation deck, following his older sister. They landed in front of the large viewport looking over Earth. Solargirl handed him the remote and he clicked on the screen. The array of screens on Metropolis flickered on the display. The heart of the city was covered in a black dome. Several blocks were already engulfed and the dome was still expanding. Finally, to top it all off, there seemed to be a shape within the darkness.

Solarboy pointed to the shadowy structure. "What's that?" he asked his sister.

"That's a good question, Jai," Solargirl said. "Why don't you find out."

"Fine," Solarboy pouted. He floated away. "...but I'm getting my team first."

Solargirl laughed. "Well, I would hope so."

Solarboy stuck out his tongue at her.

Most of the Youth Council was away from the Watchtower at the moment. Apparently, the space station wasn't fun so they much preferred to remain on Earth between missions. On the other hand, Solarboy couldn't see how anyone could dislike the Watchtower. It was so cool, like the best clubhouse ever. Fortunately, at least three of his teammates felt similarly.

Solarboy entered the main lounge for the Youth Council and found these three mentioned heroes, Hyperkid, Power Gem, and Primal. Together they made the core of the Youth Council team. Hyperkid wasn't just fast on foot, he was also fast in his mind, able to process and deduce at lightspeed. If this were a video game, he would be the rogue class. Likewise, Power Gem was the mage class. She was a Green Lantern in training and her gem of willpower let her do pretty much anything she could imagine. She was great at supporting the team at large. And finally, Primal, the warrior. He was red and furry. When he got mad, he would get redder and furrier and grow huge. He was super strong and could heal from lots of damage. They were currently playing some kind of card game.

And himself, of course, Solarboy, aspiring fearless leader. "Youth Council, convene!" he said.

"We already here, bro," Primal said. He didn't bother to look up from their game.

"Yes, but our comrades are currently planetside. We must collect them and venture to save Metropolis from certain doom."

Power Gem dropped her cards. "There's trouble in Metropolis?"

"Probably should have led with that," Hyperkid said.

Solarboy walked over to him. "Oh, I'll show you what I _lead with._ "

Power Gem looked over at Primal who shook his head as if to say 'Don't question it'.

"Shut up, your sister could be listening," Hyperkid said.

"Don't worry about her," Solarboy said. "She just wants to be on the Council with the grown ups." He turned to leave the lounge. "Come on."

Hyperkid and Primal stood from the table and followed Solarboy. Power Gem joined them as well, jogging to catch up.

"I need to make a call on the way," Power Gem said. "-let the Lanterns know I'm leaving."

Solarboy nodded. He led the team down to the hangar bay while Power Gem contacted her superiors. A Green Lantern squad was stationed on the Watchtower for the next week. Apparently, threat analysis predicted that something bad was headed for Earth. Though, nothing too crazy had happened on Earth. Yet. When Power Gem was done, she used her gem to create a glowing green forcefield for herself and a barrier around Primal and Hyperkid. Afterward, she joined Solarboy and they all flew down to Earth.

* * *

 **Coast City, Earth +5**

Coast City used to be Power Gem's little secret. Her hideaway spot for when she wanted some fun away from the team. Now, the whole Youth Council knew about it. They were always hanging out there any chance they got. It was a lively city, lots of events and things going on. There was one show in particular that the team had been looking forward to for weeks.

"They're probably hanging out before the Hateful Dread concert," Power Gem said.

Solarboy scanned the streets with his super sight. "I don't see them," he said.

Solarboy and Power Gem flew over the city. The buildings around them were bathed in the orange afternoon sun. Civilians were going about their lives, milling through the city. Solarboy was pleased that the city was safe. However, another city was in jeopardy. He needed to find the rest of his team and head to Metropolis as soon as possible.

"Maybe by the docks?" Power Gem said.

"Worth a shot," Solarboy said. "I'll go ahead, you guys search the ground."

He veered off towards the coastal edge of the city and Power Gem followed. She landed shortly after, allowing Hyperkid and Primal to search the streets more thoroughly. Meanwhile, Solarboy flew out to the beach. There, he managed to find one of his teammates, Seraph. A female Thanagrian with brilliant white wings, dressed in red and gold.

"Hey, Seraph," Solarboy called. "What's up?"

Seraph looked over her shoulder at Solarboy. She turned back to the ocean. "Hello."

"Something wrong?"

She waited a long moment before speaking again. "Your teammates have not taken well to my presence," Seraph said. "Shadeling stated that I was 'in the way'."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Solarboy said. He hesitated to ask "Is it the wings?"

Seraph laughed. "I'm sure they don't help," she said. She shook her head. "I am an individual among a mindless clique of children."

"But, you're the same age as us..."

"I am young for a hawk, but to a human, I am sagely."

"Oh... well, we can still be friends right?" Solarboy asked. "I mean-"

"Aye, what's poppin'?"

Solarboy and Seraph both turned to see the rest of the team approach. Ardent was the one who called out to them. He was flying ahead of the others, hands and feet wreathed in flame. He landed right next to them, kicking up sand as he slid to a stop.

"Yo, Hyper and Dyna bout to race!"

Solarboy floated up to get a better view. Hyperkid was crouched and radiating wisps of blue energy. Dynavolt was next to him in a runner's pose. Her blond hair and monochrome costume turned electric silver as she powered up. Power Gem flew up and projected a glowing racetrack along the sand. Luminous green stretched out a mile ahead of the two speedsters. Shadeling and Primal watched from one side of the track while Seraph watched from the other. Power Gem counted down.

"Three, two, one, go!"

They vanished. Hyperkid was a rippling wave of blue. Dynavolt was a bristling arc of silver. On either side of the track, Shadeling, Seraph, and Primal watched the pair blitz down range. Solarboy also looked on, as he was the only one who would be able to tell who won.

"Wait, is it over?" Ardent said, looking confused.

"Yeah, it's over," Solarboy said as he landed. "Hyperkid won.

"Aww no way, I went full lightning!" Dynavolt said. "Nothing is faster than lightning!"

"Nothing except me," Hyperkid quipped.

"Hey, let's focus. There's a reason I came to get you," Solarboy said. "Trouble in Metropolis."

The Youth Council all walked over to gather around Solarboy. The exchanged a few concerned looks.

"What _kind_ of trouble?" Shadeling asked.

"Follow me," Solarboy said. "See for yourself."

Solarboy rocketed away and the team raced after him.

* * *

 **[*]** See _Last Daughter of Apokolips Chapter 1_


End file.
